Article from the Albany Times Union
From the Albany Times Union
Albany, NY
Section: LIFE & LEISURE
Page: D1
Wednesday, June 17, 1998
AN EXTRACT SCIENCE THE OLDER, THE BETTER FOR BERKSHIRE VANILLA BUSINESS THAT'S STEEPED IN TRADITION
DOUG BLACKBURN STAFF WRITER
WEST STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. -- The first thing you see are the four oak casks along the wall in the shop, two on each side of the coal-burning stove, resting on their sides at hip level.
``Don't use,'' reads the sign above the spout on one of the barrels, ``the vanilla is still aging.''
The vanilla extract has been in the cask for three weeks. It was transferred there from a similar-looking barrel in the basement of Charles H. Baldwin & Sons, where it had been aging for 24 hours following a 10-day percolating process.
``We like to age the vanilla for at least three months before we bottle it,'' explained Earl Baldwin Moffatt, the fifth generation of Baldwins to make and sell extracts out of the family's old-timey general store. ``But at the rate we're selling the vanilla these days, we haven't been able to do that.
``We insist on letting it sit for at least a month, though. If we don't let it sit at least that long, it's really not the same.''
The secret may be in the aging process, because Baldwin vanilla is not like most extracts found in supermarkets (even though it's comparably priced). It is noticeably thicker than its competitors, a deeper amber color, and it has a nutty aroma that comes from sitting in barrels that are more than 75 years old.
The oak casks are no older than the copper distillery in the general store's basement. The electronically heated cylindrical still, used to percolate the Madagascar vanilla beans, ethyl alcohol and water through the first 10 days of the extracting process, is the original one employed by Henry Baldwin and his son Charles when they began making vanilla in the Center Street shop in 1920.
It has been producing vanilla, the magical flavoring agent for bakers and dessert makers, ever since.
A special edge
``I've tried other vanillas and there's no comparison. The aging in the oak casks imparts a really good flavor to the vanilla,'' said Matt White, owner of Berkshire Ice Cream, also in West Stockbridge. ``Their vanilla is far superior to anything else that's out there.''
White credits the Baldwin vanilla for giving his ice cream the edge when it won first place in a competition held last year in Boston. Taking second and third places were Ben & Jerry's and Haagen-Dazs, the top-selling premium ice-cream companies in the country.
``I have a lot of people tell me they don't like vanilla ice cream,'' White added, ``but then they'll try ours and say they like it. The difference has to be the vanilla.''
White buys up to 10 gallons of vanilla extract a month. There are scores of bakers and chefs throughout the country who know about the aged vanilla at Baldwin & Sons and purchase it wholesale. (It is available in the Capital Region at the Putnam Street Market in Saratoga Springs.)
Jackie Moffatt, Earl's wife, has been running the business for the past two years. She stepped in as manager in 1992 when Dick Moffatt, great-grandson of the founder, decided at age 76 that he was ready to retire. Earl, who was West Stockbridge's highway superintendent for 10 years, is an equipment operator for a contractor. He helps out on weekends and whenever Jackie needs help moving large batches of vanilla.
In the lab A former school administrator in the Berkshires, Jackie has been learning on the job. In addition to overseeing vanilla production, she maintains a hectic schedule in the back half of the store that she fondly refers to as ``the lab.''
There, using glass beakers and vials that appear to be as old as the still in the basement, she mixes and bottles the other extracts that Baldwin & Sons have been selling for the past 110 years: almond extract, lemon, orange, peppermint, rum flavor and spearmint, to name a few.
``I'm a chemist without a chemistry degree,'' she said with a laugh. ``Our bread and butter is the vanilla, but the family tradition has been to carry a wide variety of extracts, so we continue to make them.''
Tradition is a key ingredient at the Baldwin store. The founder's edict was simple and to the point: Never tamper with the recipe or use inferior beans. Jackie adheres to that commandment. That's why she continues to use vanilla beans from Madagascar, even though they are the most expensive in the world.
The family secret The vanilla bean is actually the fruit of a tropical orchid, the only orchid that produces an edible fruit. It is produced in other parts of the world, but the Baldwin business is partial to the Madagascar variety. Moffatt has sampled beans from Tahiti, for example, but found them too floral.
When Henry's son, Charles, decided in the early 1900s to focus his energies on the extract business, the item most in demand was sarsaparilla. His son, Earl, grandfather of current owner Earl Baldwin Moffatt, earned a pharmacist's degree as he continued the family business.
Little seems to have changed inside the store since then. Nostalgic toys like wooden yo-yos, jacks and tops line the shelves, as well as compasses and slide rules. A humongous steel cash register, circa 1920, is still functioning. One display case lets you know the store also caters to tourists and cooks. It contains a wide variety of spices, including marjoram and ground poppy seed.
There's a door in the basement at ground level. It's next to the still, and it opens on to a picturesque view of the Williams River. Moffatt often keeps it open this time of year to watch the fly fishermen pursue trout while she makes vanilla, 25 gallons at a time, the still constantly going.
``We need to figure out a way to get (the still) upstairs where customers can see it, because it really is a conversation piece,'' she said. ``As our business continues to grow, we're hoping to make a new still that will produce 100 gallons of vanilla at a time.
``As long as we stay with the same recipe and keep using the Madagascar beans, we can't go wrong. Even with a new still we have the 75-year-old barrels that we'll use to age the vanilla.''
A little bit of vanilla extract goes a long way. Here are three recipes to try using the magical flavoring agent:
CORNMEAL-BUTTER WAFERS
(Makes four dozen two-and-a-half-inch cookies) One cup butter, softened One cup firmly packed light brown sugar One egg Two teaspoons pure vanilla extract One and one-half cups yellow cornmeal, divided One and one-quarter cups all-purpose flour (unsifted) One-quarter cup slivered almonds
Preheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl cream butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg and pure vanilla extract. Stir in one and one-quarter cups cornmeal and the flour; mix well.
Shape dough into one-inch balls. Roll in remaining one-quarter cup cornmeal. Place on ungreased cookie sheets two inches apart. Flatten balls to one-quarter inch thick. Top with almonds. Bake until pale gold around the edges, about eight minutes.
Cool on racks.
OPEN-FACED APPLE PIE
Pastry for two-crust pie Two eggs One-half cup sugar Two tablespoons flour Three teaspoons pure vanilla extract, divided One and one-third cups heavy whipping cream, divided One and one-half cups lightly packed, peeled and grated tart apples One-third cup golden raisins Two tablespoons confectioners sugar
Roll out pastry into 12-inch circle. Fit into a 10-inch part pan with a removable bottom, pressing onto sides; refrigerate until ready to fill.
Preheat over to 375. In a large mixing bowl beat eggs and sugar until thick and lemon colored. Beat in flour, two teaspoons pure vanilla extract and one-third cup cream until combined. Stir in apples and raisins. Turn into chilled pie shell. Bake until pastry is lightly browned and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 55 minutes.
Cool on a rack. Just before serving beat in a medium bowl remaining one cup cream, one teaspoon pure vanilla extract and the confectioners sugar until soft peaks form. Serve with pie.
COLD VANILLA ORANGE SOUFFLE
(Serves eight)
One package unflavored gelatin One-quarter cup cold water One and one-quarter cups milk Three eggs, divided Three-quarters cup sugar, divided Two and one-half teaspoons pure vanilla extract Two teaspoons grated orange peel One cup heavy whipping cream, whipped
In a small cup, sprinkle gelatin over cold water; set aside. In a medium saucepan, combine milk, egg yolks and one-half cup sugar. Cook and stir over low heat until mixture coats a metal spoon, about seven minutes.
Remove from heat. Stir in gelatin mixture, pure vanilla extract and orange peel. Transfer to a large bowl. Cool by placing bowl in a larger bowl or pot containing ice cubes, stirring frequently, until mixture mounds slightly on a spoon.
In a clean bowl beat egg whites until foamy. Gradually add remaining one-quarter cup sugar, beating until stiff but not dry. Stir about one-third beaten whites into yolk mixture. Fold in remaining whites and whipped cream.
Turn into a one-and-one-half quarter souffle dish or serving bowl. Chill until set, at least three hours. Garnish with orange segments and whipped cream, if desired.
-- Recipes courtesy of the Vanilla Information Bureau Inc.
Albany, NY
Section: LIFE & LEISURE
Page: D1
Wednesday, June 17, 1998
AN EXTRACT SCIENCE THE OLDER, THE BETTER FOR BERKSHIRE VANILLA BUSINESS THAT'S STEEPED IN TRADITION
DOUG BLACKBURN STAFF WRITER
WEST STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. -- The first thing you see are the four oak casks along the wall in the shop, two on each side of the coal-burning stove, resting on their sides at hip level.
``Don't use,'' reads the sign above the spout on one of the barrels, ``the vanilla is still aging.''
The vanilla extract has been in the cask for three weeks. It was transferred there from a similar-looking barrel in the basement of Charles H. Baldwin & Sons, where it had been aging for 24 hours following a 10-day percolating process.
``We like to age the vanilla for at least three months before we bottle it,'' explained Earl Baldwin Moffatt, the fifth generation of Baldwins to make and sell extracts out of the family's old-timey general store. ``But at the rate we're selling the vanilla these days, we haven't been able to do that.
``We insist on letting it sit for at least a month, though. If we don't let it sit at least that long, it's really not the same.''
The secret may be in the aging process, because Baldwin vanilla is not like most extracts found in supermarkets (even though it's comparably priced). It is noticeably thicker than its competitors, a deeper amber color, and it has a nutty aroma that comes from sitting in barrels that are more than 75 years old.
The oak casks are no older than the copper distillery in the general store's basement. The electronically heated cylindrical still, used to percolate the Madagascar vanilla beans, ethyl alcohol and water through the first 10 days of the extracting process, is the original one employed by Henry Baldwin and his son Charles when they began making vanilla in the Center Street shop in 1920.
It has been producing vanilla, the magical flavoring agent for bakers and dessert makers, ever since.
A special edge
``I've tried other vanillas and there's no comparison. The aging in the oak casks imparts a really good flavor to the vanilla,'' said Matt White, owner of Berkshire Ice Cream, also in West Stockbridge. ``Their vanilla is far superior to anything else that's out there.''
White credits the Baldwin vanilla for giving his ice cream the edge when it won first place in a competition held last year in Boston. Taking second and third places were Ben & Jerry's and Haagen-Dazs, the top-selling premium ice-cream companies in the country.
``I have a lot of people tell me they don't like vanilla ice cream,'' White added, ``but then they'll try ours and say they like it. The difference has to be the vanilla.''
White buys up to 10 gallons of vanilla extract a month. There are scores of bakers and chefs throughout the country who know about the aged vanilla at Baldwin & Sons and purchase it wholesale. (It is available in the Capital Region at the Putnam Street Market in Saratoga Springs.)
Jackie Moffatt, Earl's wife, has been running the business for the past two years. She stepped in as manager in 1992 when Dick Moffatt, great-grandson of the founder, decided at age 76 that he was ready to retire. Earl, who was West Stockbridge's highway superintendent for 10 years, is an equipment operator for a contractor. He helps out on weekends and whenever Jackie needs help moving large batches of vanilla.
In the lab A former school administrator in the Berkshires, Jackie has been learning on the job. In addition to overseeing vanilla production, she maintains a hectic schedule in the back half of the store that she fondly refers to as ``the lab.''
There, using glass beakers and vials that appear to be as old as the still in the basement, she mixes and bottles the other extracts that Baldwin & Sons have been selling for the past 110 years: almond extract, lemon, orange, peppermint, rum flavor and spearmint, to name a few.
``I'm a chemist without a chemistry degree,'' she said with a laugh. ``Our bread and butter is the vanilla, but the family tradition has been to carry a wide variety of extracts, so we continue to make them.''
Tradition is a key ingredient at the Baldwin store. The founder's edict was simple and to the point: Never tamper with the recipe or use inferior beans. Jackie adheres to that commandment. That's why she continues to use vanilla beans from Madagascar, even though they are the most expensive in the world.
The family secret The vanilla bean is actually the fruit of a tropical orchid, the only orchid that produces an edible fruit. It is produced in other parts of the world, but the Baldwin business is partial to the Madagascar variety. Moffatt has sampled beans from Tahiti, for example, but found them too floral.
When Henry's son, Charles, decided in the early 1900s to focus his energies on the extract business, the item most in demand was sarsaparilla. His son, Earl, grandfather of current owner Earl Baldwin Moffatt, earned a pharmacist's degree as he continued the family business.
Little seems to have changed inside the store since then. Nostalgic toys like wooden yo-yos, jacks and tops line the shelves, as well as compasses and slide rules. A humongous steel cash register, circa 1920, is still functioning. One display case lets you know the store also caters to tourists and cooks. It contains a wide variety of spices, including marjoram and ground poppy seed.
There's a door in the basement at ground level. It's next to the still, and it opens on to a picturesque view of the Williams River. Moffatt often keeps it open this time of year to watch the fly fishermen pursue trout while she makes vanilla, 25 gallons at a time, the still constantly going.
``We need to figure out a way to get (the still) upstairs where customers can see it, because it really is a conversation piece,'' she said. ``As our business continues to grow, we're hoping to make a new still that will produce 100 gallons of vanilla at a time.
``As long as we stay with the same recipe and keep using the Madagascar beans, we can't go wrong. Even with a new still we have the 75-year-old barrels that we'll use to age the vanilla.''
A little bit of vanilla extract goes a long way. Here are three recipes to try using the magical flavoring agent:
CORNMEAL-BUTTER WAFERS
(Makes four dozen two-and-a-half-inch cookies) One cup butter, softened One cup firmly packed light brown sugar One egg Two teaspoons pure vanilla extract One and one-half cups yellow cornmeal, divided One and one-quarter cups all-purpose flour (unsifted) One-quarter cup slivered almonds
Preheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl cream butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg and pure vanilla extract. Stir in one and one-quarter cups cornmeal and the flour; mix well.
Shape dough into one-inch balls. Roll in remaining one-quarter cup cornmeal. Place on ungreased cookie sheets two inches apart. Flatten balls to one-quarter inch thick. Top with almonds. Bake until pale gold around the edges, about eight minutes.
Cool on racks.
OPEN-FACED APPLE PIE
Pastry for two-crust pie Two eggs One-half cup sugar Two tablespoons flour Three teaspoons pure vanilla extract, divided One and one-third cups heavy whipping cream, divided One and one-half cups lightly packed, peeled and grated tart apples One-third cup golden raisins Two tablespoons confectioners sugar
Roll out pastry into 12-inch circle. Fit into a 10-inch part pan with a removable bottom, pressing onto sides; refrigerate until ready to fill.
Preheat over to 375. In a large mixing bowl beat eggs and sugar until thick and lemon colored. Beat in flour, two teaspoons pure vanilla extract and one-third cup cream until combined. Stir in apples and raisins. Turn into chilled pie shell. Bake until pastry is lightly browned and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 55 minutes.
Cool on a rack. Just before serving beat in a medium bowl remaining one cup cream, one teaspoon pure vanilla extract and the confectioners sugar until soft peaks form. Serve with pie.
COLD VANILLA ORANGE SOUFFLE
(Serves eight)
One package unflavored gelatin One-quarter cup cold water One and one-quarter cups milk Three eggs, divided Three-quarters cup sugar, divided Two and one-half teaspoons pure vanilla extract Two teaspoons grated orange peel One cup heavy whipping cream, whipped
In a small cup, sprinkle gelatin over cold water; set aside. In a medium saucepan, combine milk, egg yolks and one-half cup sugar. Cook and stir over low heat until mixture coats a metal spoon, about seven minutes.
Remove from heat. Stir in gelatin mixture, pure vanilla extract and orange peel. Transfer to a large bowl. Cool by placing bowl in a larger bowl or pot containing ice cubes, stirring frequently, until mixture mounds slightly on a spoon.
In a clean bowl beat egg whites until foamy. Gradually add remaining one-quarter cup sugar, beating until stiff but not dry. Stir about one-third beaten whites into yolk mixture. Fold in remaining whites and whipped cream.
Turn into a one-and-one-half quarter souffle dish or serving bowl. Chill until set, at least three hours. Garnish with orange segments and whipped cream, if desired.
-- Recipes courtesy of the Vanilla Information Bureau Inc.